


I'm worried.

by Onedayillhaveahouseboat



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers Family, Dead May Parker (Spider-Man), Hurt Peter Parker, Needles, Pepper Potts Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Trans Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:14:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26924173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onedayillhaveahouseboat/pseuds/Onedayillhaveahouseboat
Summary: Peter moves in with the Avengers after his Aunt May dies. It overwhelming, to say the least. Especally when you mix in gender dysphoria.
Relationships: Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 63
Kudos: 354





	1. Aw, fuck

"Ah, fuck!", Peter scrunched up his face, breathing heavily. He let go of his thigh once the needle was all the way in, and began to inject the testosterone. It was slow, and he stayed deadly still, afraid to jostle it. Aunt May usually did his shots. She knew he hated needles, and she was a nurse so it worked out great. They used to do it every other thursday, and every time he'd be just as nervous. He remembered the feeling of her patting his hair down, her soft words, and the Iron Man Band-Aids she'd bought to embarrass him. But god, he loved them so much. They'd go out and get Thia food afterwards, talk about their day and- Shit. 

He blinked the tears out of his eye's, and pulled out the now empty syringe. Taking a few deep breaths he set down the needle, and went to grab a Band-Aid. They were plain, not Iron Man by the way. Which was honestly surprising because he wouldn't put it past Mr. Stark to have Iron Man band aids in his own First-Aid kits. The tears flowed heavier, his breathing was shaky. Suddenly the bathroom lights were too bright, his head was throbbing.  
"Fri, the lights", he whined out. The room darkened substantially.  
"Are you experiencing a sensory overload? Would you like me to contact Boss?". Her voice was always softer when he was like this. It was comforting and creepy at the same time.  
"No, nope, please don't". She didn't argue. When he'd first moved into the Tower, FRIDAY alerted Mr. Stark if he so much as sniffled. It was suffocating. Ms. Potts had put a stop to it, she'd explained to Mr. Stark the importance of boundaries and privacy. 

Peter reached to grab his sharps container, fumbling with the lid. He gripped it tighter, and ended up cracking the whole thing. The grief, and his head, and the needles were all too much, he lost control of his strength. Now the lid was a mess of plastic shards, and the container had snapped in half, sending all the used needles falling to the ground. 

"I-fucking, motherfucker! Ouch!". He stood up quick, sending the plastic scattering around the bathroom. His hands pulled at his hair as he tried to steady his breathing. He wasn't crying anymore, he was seeing red. He was so frustrated and angry, and god it wasn't fair! Why was she dead? Why did Peter have to get everyone he loved killed? 

He snapped the rubber band on his wrist, hard. Mr. Wilson had given it to him, it was supposed to help Peter ground himself. It worked, because a few minutes later he was mostly calmed down. Picking up the plastic shards was tedious. He threw them all into an old Takis bag, not wanting to risk someone seeing his bathroom trash can. He'd throw it away before he got on the train tomorrow morning. But the needles, what was he going to do with them? No way was he going to ditch a bag of used needles in some random trash can, even Peter wasn't that reckless. He'd just have to wait until he could pick up a new sharps container from the Pharmacy. Peter grabbed his pencil bag, emptying it out and putting the needles inside. He stuffed the bag under the mattress. He went back to the bathroom, collecting all his other stuff. Packaged needles, alcohol wipes, and little bottle of T. It all went into a lockbox that he kept behind one of the vents on his bedroom ceiling. 

It wasn't that Peter was worried about the other Avengers finding out, It's just how he liked it. He was stealth. It was easier this way. He;'d transitioned in the 3th grade. Started puberty blockers in 5th, got his name and marker change in 7th, and started testosterone Freshmen year. What little extra fat he'd had on his chest went away when he got bit. So he'd basically had top surgery, the only thing off about his flat chest was the nipple placement. Peter passed %100, and he felt good. Not to say that the dysphoria was gone, because nope. Not at all. Bottom dysphoria was especially shitty right now. There was a urinal in his on-suite bathroom for Christ's sake. So now with Aunt May gone, nobody but Ned knew. Of course he knew, they were best friends. And Ned, being the amazing hacker/guy in the chair that he is, had basically erased any evidence of pre-transition Peter online. So yeah, Peter was definitely not worried about the Avengers finding out. Not at all. 

"Peter, Boss is requesting your presence in the kitchen. Take-out just arrived".  
"Okay, Fri. Tell him I'm on my way". Peter made sure to splash his face with cold water, and tug on a hoodie before making his way to the kitchen.


	2. A sleepover?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Ned are gonna have a sleepover. At Avengers Tower.

"Huh?", Peter snapped out of his daydream, blinking up dumbly. Ned wiggled the apple in his hand and tossed it to his best friend. Peter caught it, obviously, taking a bite and sighing.

"Did you finish the APUSH notes last night? It was like, chapter twenty-eight through thirty-two, right?".

"Yeah I'll send you pic's", Ned fished through his binder.

"Thanks, man. You're the real one". Peter threw him a small smile and Ned's heart clenched.

May had been dead for a few months now, it was still hard to believe. He knew Peter definitely didn't want to talk about it, but it was hard seeing him like this. Dark bags under his eye, and jaw popping yawns. His face was hollowed, wrists bony, and the bruises poking out of the hems of his sweatshirts showed he'd been skipping meals. He was pushing himself to the max, and it was only a matter of time before he cracked. Ned would just have to be there to help him pick up the pieces. He glanced over at Peter, who looked to be deep in thought. Eyes glazed over, head propped up against one hand. He hadn't taken another bite of his apple. 

"Hey, you wanna finish building that Ewok Village? We're pretty close...and you look stressed out. We could pull an all-nighter, Apex, pizza, maybe even some of those gummy bear's Jake's selling." Pleasesayyespleasesayyespleasesayyespleasesayyes...

Peter smiled at him, and it almost looked genuine. "Yeah, that sounds great. Wanna do it at my house?".

Ned blinked. "You're asking me, Ned Leeds, Spiderman's guy in the chair, if I'd like to have a sleepover at Avengers Tower?". 

Peter rolled his eyes. "Sorry man, I shouldn't have even asked. Of course you'd rather hang out at your place. I'll ask Ms. Potts if I can go home with you today-".

"Nope! No, shut up. No take-backs Peter, sleepover at your place!". He was practically vibrating with excitement. Peter rolled his eyes, grabbing his phone. Ned pulled his out too, typing quickly to his mom.

"She says it's fine, ask your mom-".

"She said yes!". 

"Cool, let's meet at my locker and then head over to your place to grab your stuff". The end of lunch bell rang, and the boys began to pack their bags.

"Nice, you want me to talk to Jake? He's in my sixth hour." Peter shrugged, pulling a 20 out of his wallet, 

"Yeah, but don't get brownies from him again, they tasted like butt cheek on a stick last time." Ned was ecstatic, Peter was acting happier than he'd seen him in months. They did their handshake and headed off to class.

Peter Parker:  
Hey Ms. Potts, can my friend Ned spend the night?

Huh. That's a first. Peter had only texted her a handful of times since moving in. Asking if she’d proofread his business class report, or requesting curfew extensions because ‘ Hear me out, Ms. Potts. All the cool criminals don't have bedtimes, so all the awesome stuff happens past 11:00! Please please please?’. She’d send him back a text along the lines of, ‘You’re a growing boy and you need your beauty sleep, so be back by 11:00 or I’ll tell Natasha.’. 

He never argued or picked a fight. It was a little unnerving. With all the trauma Peter’s faced in his young life, he had every right to lash out. When Tony brought Peter back the night his Aunt died and explained everything to her, she’d expected a troubled boy. Grieving and distraught. But he smiled and laughed along with the team, showed up to training sessions, and gave it his all, he ate what they put in front of him and kept up with his schoolwork. She knew he healed fast, but his feelings weren't enhanced. Peter was keeping everything bottled inside, he didn't let any of his baggage show. Pepper and Tony, and even the other Avengers, were waiting for him to crack. It was only a matter of time right? If any group of people understood loss and PTSD it was Earth's Mightiest Heroes. 

But a sleepover? That was a big step, Peter hardly talked about his social life. They’d all heard about Ned, though. Peter talked about him like he'd hung the stars, best friends since 1st grade. Maybe they were wrong, maybe Peter was doing fine. Handling it in his own way. 

Pepper Potts:  
Of course! Tony and I won't be back until past midnight, the energy conference is tonight. And remember, FRIDAY will let us know if you’re exploding anything. So please don't explode anything. I’ll see you later, have fun! 

Her office door opened, and Tony came walking in. He was covered nearly head to toe in grease marks, his normally perfectly styled hair was a rats nest, eyes reading through a report on his Stark Pad. 

“Hey Pep,”, he paused, still reading whatever it was on his tablet,”, I just got a call from some lawyer about the solar power mandate we’re presenting at the energy panel tonight, he said something about something, I don't know, I told him to talk to you-”.

“I handled it. And he wasn't a lawyer, Tony. Mr. Wyatt was the White House Energy Advisor.”, Pepper sighed. Heavily. 

Tony waved his hand with a grunt. “He sounded like a lawyer, Pep. He had that Vinny vibe. Did I tell you about that mouthpiece I met in D.C, he was a fucking-”

“Peter texted me”, Tony’s head snapped up. She smiled, it was sweet. Peter had Tony wrapped around his finger, and he didn't even know it. They’d been talking about having a baby for a while now, so seeing how Tony was with Peter was very reassuring. He’d make a great dad.  
“He wanted to know if Ned could spend the night, I said yes.”.

“A sleepover? He hasn't had anyone over yet. That's a good sign. It's a good sign, right?”, he didn't pause long enough for Pepper to answer. “This is great! Peter’s- wait. Wait, we have that energy thing tonight, we’re not going to be here. We should stay right? I’ll stay and-”.

“You can't stay, Tony. We've had this conference on the books for five months. The PR team will have a heart attack if you cancel this again.”

Tony blinked. “Peter’s having a sleepover, Pep.”

“I know, and he’s fifteen years old, Tony. He needs his space, it’s probably a good thing we won't be there, I don't want him to get spooked. He’s finally getting comfortable around us.”.

Tony seemed to consider this. 

“Yeah, ok. You’re right.”

“When have I ever been wrong?”, she joked lightly, getting up from her desk and making her way out of the office, Tony trailing quietly after her.

“You remember that night we spent in Paris? The Eiffel Tower? You said I couldn't possibly rent out the Eiffel Tower-”.

“Oh my god, Tony-”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys whats up?  
> Let me know if this story is shit, ok? Idk  
> Anyway have a good one :)


	3. Porn?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flash is a dick, Clint calls Peter unexpectedly, and Ned is very excited about the sleepover.

“Hey, Penis!”

Peter kept walking, making his way into the locker room. Flash and his gang of neanderthals followed closely behind. In and out, Peter. Just go get your gym clothes. 

He had found his locker and started on the combination when his spidey sense flared, a hand yanked at his backpack. Peter let himself be thrown to the ground, wincing as his elbow hit the corner of a bench. He looked up at the other boys.

“Hey Flash, what’s up man? Long time no see”. Peter flashed them a cocky smile, the kind he'd picked up from Mr. Stark. He went to lift himself up, but a swift kick to the gut put him right back on the floor. Highschool, the golden years. Yeah right, whoever came up with that bullshit was-

“What's up, Penis, is my spot on the Decathlon team.”, Peter frowned. What? No way, Flash was still backup, there’s no way MJ bumped him up.

“In your dreams, Eugene.”, he stood, making it to his feet this time. Flash’s face scrunched up in anger. Peter would be angry too, he figured, if his parents had named him Eugene.

Flash balled his fist in Peter's shirt, slamming him up against the lockers.”Just give me your spot, and all of this will stop. I won’t lay a fucking finger on you again. You don't even deserve that spot, you’re always skipping! I kinda figured when that precious Aunt of yours croaked you’d finally crack.”. Peter shot him a dark glare and tore the bullies arm off his shirt. Flash stepped back with a laugh. “Just let me know when you’ve had enough, Penis.”. 

“Sure, as long as you let me know when you get that stick taken out of your ass-”, Peters gets cut off, one of the other boys delivering a hard knee to his crotch. Ouch. Peter’s trans and even he knows it's a low blow. He crumples to the floor in fake agony, waiting until he hears the laughing boys leave the locker room. It’s a good thing he used a real packer today, not just a balled-up sock. And yeah, Peters is angry, but then he feels the dysphoria set in. It's a fucked up thing, being depressed that he didn't actually get kneed in the balls. But he can’t help it. Peter grabs his reeking gym clothes and heads out to meet Ned.

Guy in the chair:  
Had to stay late in lang  
Then I’m meeting Jake in the north hall bathroom  
Omw

Peter rested his head against the cool locker as he waited, headphones in trying to block out any shitty thoughts. He was listening to Mother Mother, for good measure. A ringing phone startled him, and he yanked out the headphones. Who calls people? Birdbrain. Apparently, Birdbrain calls people. Birdbrain is calling him. Peter answered hesitantly.

“Hey Peter, what are you up to?”

“Uhm...not much. What are you- Wait! Is there a mission? I can be at the Tower in ten-”

“Hold your horses, Spider kid. No mission.”

Peter paused, no mission? Then why was Clint Barton calling him? “Ok, uh...then what can I do for you?”

“Well you see, I was just hanging around in the vents, ya’ know, like I do. And I came across something kinda interesting.”

Peter froze, a million thoughts running through his head. Oh my god, he knows, everyone is gonna know- He took a breath, remain calm, deny, deny, deny. “Really? That's cool, I didn't know you hung out in the vents. What, uh what did you find?”

“I think you know what I found, kid.” 

Oh god. Jesus. Ok, this is happening. “I can explain, ok? I’m sorry, really. I’m really, really sorry, please don’t tell everyone-”

“Jesus kid you're really freaking out, what the hells in this lockbox?”, Peter heard Clint chuckle. Why is he laughing? This isn't funny. This is terrible- Wait. He doesn't know. He didn't look inside! Ok, cool. Just be cool, Peter. Stay calm.

“Uhmmm….porn?”.

The line fell silent. 

“Porn? You’re keeping porn in a locked metal box?”

“Yeah”

More silence. This phone call was beginning to seem more awkward than the team finding out he was trans. 

“...Peter.”

“…Clint”

“It’s not, like, drugs? Or a gun, knives? You’ve got a phone, you’re Gen-Z, why would you need to keep porn in a lockbox?”

“I think FRIDAY reports my search history back to Mr. Stark”. It wasn't a lie, he was 99% sure that's what would happen if he did try and pull up the hub. But that was a whole different can of worms. Clint was quiet again, he wasn’t buying it.

“Ok fine, it’s not porn. I-It’s, I mean…it’s-”, Clint cut him off.

“FRIDAY, run a scan. Is there anything extremely dangerous or addictive in this thing? Yes or no, I don’t need to know what’s inside unless it’s messed up.”. Peter’s heart nearly stopped. Wait...it’s not like there’s any needles in there. Maybe-

“My scan shows nothing inherently dangerous, nor addictive is inside Mr. Parker's lockbox.” Relief, instant relief.

“Ok, kid. I’ll leave your porn box alone, take a breath. I can practically feel your panic through the phone, jeez.” Peter relaxed. “But you know if you were in any trouble we’d all have your back, right? All of us, Peter. You’ve got all the Avengers in your corner, don't be afraid to come to us.”

“Yeah, I know. I promise I’m not getting into anything bad. Thanks for being cool about this. Oh, shoot, here comes Ned, I gotta go.” 

“Alrighty, don't forget about training tomorrow, Spider-Baby”. Peter rolled his eyes and the line went dead. 

That man is one of the most highly trained spy-assassins on the planet, but at least he seemed to value privacy. All in all, it was a pretty successful conversation. Just then, Ned rounded the corner. 

“Hey, you ready?”. 

They walked out of the building, heading for the subway. It was gonna be a good night, Peter hadn't felt this normal in a while and he was going to appreciate every minute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> porn lol


	4. Sausage Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter finishes his sleepover with Ned and ends up in the Medbay.

Ned twisted the strap of his overnight bag anxiously, gnawing on his bottom lip. He elbowed Peter, who was sitting next to him on the subway. 

“Hey”

Peter turned to glance at him. “What?”

“The tower has, like, an A.I, right? That monitors everything?”, Ned asked worriedly. 

“Uh yeah, FRIDAY. Why?”, it was kind of weird seeing Ned so freaked out over hanging out in his room at the Tower. Peter guessed he’d get used to it eventually. 

Ned pulled the plastic bag of gummy bears out of his sweatshirt, “Do you think it’ll be a problem? Like...will FRIDAY know?”.

Shit, yeah. That was a very valid concern. Peter thought back to the vape incident a couple weeks ago. MJ had loaned him a puff bar one day, he had stuffed it in his pants pocket. And by the time he’d made it up to the Penthouse, a good amount of Avengers were waiting for him. 

“I brought a puff bar home once, it was in my pocket but FRIDAY caught it when I went through the screeners in the lobby. It was shitty, Ms. Potts was upset and I got a drug lecture from Cap”.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, I know right! Mixed berry nicotine is hardly a drug. They totally overreacted! Now I make sure to swing to the roof entrance if I've got anything-”. Ned cutoff Peter’s tangent.

“So we definitely shouldn't bring this in?”

“Nope. Definitely not. We should eat them, like, a block away.”

His best friend didn't look so reassured. “FRIDAY won't scan us? Doesn't she monitor your vitals and stuff?”.

“No, not anymore. Only when I’m patrolling. Plus, I don't think that’s how it works, A.I.’s can't just drug test you.” Ned continued to chew at his lip, leg bouncing, Peter sighed. “I promise Ned. It’s gonna be fine, Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts aren’t even there, and half the Avengers are gone too. We’ll go straight to my room”. 

He watched Ned for a few moments, until he looked over and smiled. 

“Alright, cool.”

“Noice”.

They’d stopped about a block away, and ducked into an alley to eat the gummies. Ned still seemed nervous as they entered the lobby. Peter wasn't sure if it was about FRIDAY, or just being in Avengers tower. The boys stepped into the private elevator and made their way up to the penthouse. 

“C’mon, let’s get some snacks and I’ll show you my room”, Peter shrugged off his backpacks, leaving in next to the couch, and headed for the fridge. He’d accumulated a good amount of snacks, and turned back to find Ned hadn’t moved.

“Uhh, Ned? Are you high already, or just awestruck?”, Ned starred, mouth open.” Uh dude? Hello? C’mon, my room’s this way”.

Ned looked up, “Peter, this is the greatest day of my life. I could seriously, 100% for sure, die happy right now.”

Peter rolled his eyes, feeling a pang of sadness in his chest. Good to know, Ned. I’m glad you like it here. But he’d give anything to be back in his Queens apartment. His aunt May watching cheesy lifetime movies on the couch, him and Ned sprawled out on his scratchy bedroom carpet building legos. But shit happens, he guessed. Sometimes it really just be like that. He pushed those thoughts from his head as they walked to his room. Tonight was gonna be great, just like old times. 

The penthouse elevator dinged open at half-past 12. Pepper stepped out, heels in hand. Tony after her, tie undone, looking awfully tired. He stepped into the kitchen, tugging the fridge open to retrieve a container of blueberries, and tossed one at Pepper. It bounced off her top and rolled away. 

“Tony.”

“Pepper.” She looked at him amused, shaking her head.

“Let’s head to bed, no...wait. Should we check on Peter?”.

Tony shrugged, “Uhmm, I don't know? Is that standard? Is he too old? You know that the social worker really should have given us a handbook or something. I beginning to feel incompetent-”

“FRIDAY, how’s Peter?”

“Peter and Mr. Leeds arrived at 5:03, making a short stop in the kitchen, before entering Peter’s room. They have yet to leave, and seem to be watching a movie titled, Sausage Party.” Pepper raised her eyebrows, and Tony snorted. 

“Should we be worried about that? What is he allowed to watch? See, Pep. I’m telling you, if only we had a manual-”.

“I think it’s fine, Tony. He’s a teenager. FRIDAY, remind me to look into content restrictions tomorrow. And tell Peter we’re home, and goodnight.”, She reached for Tony’s arm, dragging him away from the kitchen. “Bed, Tony. It’s time to sleep. God knows you need it.”

“Are you sure, Pep? It’s fairly early, we could always, ya’ know,” Tony wiggled his eyebrows,”...fondue?”. 

Pepper snorted this time, slapping his arm as they disappeared down the hall and to their bedroom. 

The car was unrecognizable. The hood a mangled mess of metal, contorted and gushing out thick grey smoke. It had exploded, but not immediately. He was sure his Aunt had felt it coming, pinned beneath shards of metal. May had heard the low whizzing of a pressure building, had smelt the fumes and blood, felt the burst of flames. Her body had been covered in fire and metal, dirt, and blood. He wondered if she had thought of the new bottle of strawberry-scented shampoo in their bathroom, because May hated being dirty. Or maybe she imagined the scrubber she used to clean the blood from underneath their fingernails, after fixing up Peter’s more serious patrol injuries. Because May hated blood. And she hated cars, too. 

‘4.6, Peter! A car put’s out 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year! It’s fucking criminal, absolutely insane!'. 

Peter smiled at the sound of her voice. Turning to meet her eyes, expecting her brown hair pulled in a messy bun. Her vintage, thick-framed glasses, and flowy flowered top. He wanted to see her hazel eyes, and bright, dimpled smile. But instead, he saw a monster. And a mess of dripping flesh, charred, and peaking bones. Her skull fixed him a deep frown, butchered fingers reached out, smearing his sweater with dark blood. He tried to pull back, but her grip was iron. Peter was afraid to reach out and push her away, she might disintegrate. Burst into ash, surrounding and suffocating him. He screamed and sobbed, squeezing his eye’s shut. 

“You’re a curse Peter, I’m dead, Ben’s dead, we’re all dead! Why did you kill us, Peter? You’re-”

Peter jolted straight up. Legs tangled in the sheets, thick beads of sweat running down his forehead. His lungs burned as he gasped for air. Looking around the room frantically, eye’s landing on Ned's sleeping form. Or the lump under a blanket that he assumed to be Ned.

“Peter, the time is currently 12:46. Ms. Romanoff has requested I remind you not to be late for your training session. She insists the consequences will be dire.”

Peter blinked, trying to process what she'd said. The image of May’s burnt corpse filtering out of his brain. Training? Uhmmm...Natasha! Shit, Natasha!

He flipped off the bed in practiced ease, shaking Ned awake and running into his closet. 

“Ned! Ned, get up!”, he pulled on a pair of sweats and a dry-fit, hearing a groggy, What?, from his best friend. “Dude, you gotta go. It’s late, and I've got training, like, right now.”

He ran back into the room, Ned standing with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and yawning. 

Peter sighed, and began to throw Ned’s stuff in his bag. “If I miss training again, Nat will...uh..I don't know. Like, cut off my fingers, or sell me to the Russian mafia!”, He put the bag into Ned’s arms and started to steer him out of the room. “I’ll text you later ok?” They passed by Tony at the kitchen island, he had an amused smirk on his face. Peter ignored it.

Ned shook his head. “I’m sorry-you, what? Nat?...like Natasha? As in Natasha Romanoff? You have to train with Natasha Romanoff, who you call Nat, or she’ll sell you to the Russian mafia?”.

Tony let out a bark of laughter from the kitchen. 

Peter continued to ignore Tony, but Ned whipped around just then noticing Iron Man sitting at the kitchen counter. Before his best friend managed to embarrass the both of them, Peter had him in the elevator. 

“Bye, Ned. See ya’ at school!”. The elevator doors closed, and Peter let out a sigh. His head resting on the cool wall. 

“The Russian mafia, huh kid?”. Peter groaned, before stepping in the elevator himself and sending him a salute. “Wish me luck, Mr. Stark”.

“It’s Tony-”. And with that, the doors were closed. 

Peter's nose hit the gym mat pretty hard this time. He'd been doing awful this entire training session. Probably shouldn't have stayed up so late, or missed breakfast, or-he felt a tickle in his nose. Lifting his head, he looked at the small pool of blood that had dripped to the floor. He must have been staring too long, because he heard Steve call out from his place at the punching bags.

"You alright, Queens? You should cut him a break Tasha, he's looking off today." Peter groaned, he didn't need a break, he wasn't some little kid. He was Spiderman, he could lift buildings with his bare hands for Christ's sake.

"I'm good, Cap. Just spaced out for a second is all". He jumped up, getting himself back in stance with Nat. But she only stared at him, in the eyes, hands on her hips. Wow, that's not intimidating at all. "What?". He could taste the blood in his mouth. Why was there so much? He looked down, his white shirt growing red. Suddenly Steve was at his side, pushing a towel to his face. Peter glanced over at Nat again.

"I think it's broken.", was all she said, before pulling him along. Peter just went with it. Obviously, she was the Black Widow. They'd entered the Medbay soon enough, and next thing he knew he was sitting on an observation table, Dr. Cho poking and prodding and it was all too much, the antiseptic smell and fluorescent lighting and-

"Peter, take a few deep breaths, In and out, ok? We need to set your nose before it heals incorrectly.". So he worked on his breathing as she scanned him. What was she scanning him with? It's probably like a high tech x-ray thingy. Her hands were back on his face, he looked over at Nat, who was still starring at him with the same hard look and squinting eyes. What was that about? "I'm going to set it now Peter, take a big breath, one... two...he felt a snap, a really painful snap. Shuddering, he let out a whine.

"Peter! Hey, Petey," Mr. Stark was jogging up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder."What happened?" He turned to look at Nat.

"Did you break him, Romanoff? That was my one rule, don't break my kid, and you go and break-", Dr. Cho interrupted him, eyes still on her Stark-Pad. 

"He had a broken nose, I reset it before it could heal incorrectly. I'll prescribe him some pain relief, he should keep those bandages on for at least the rest off the day...", she frowned at her tablet, looking over at Peter. He met her gaze, confused. Mr. Stark squeezed his shoulder.

"What? What's wrong?", Mr. Stark demanded. If Peter hadn't of been feeling so terrible, he would've been a little heart warmed and embarrassed to her Mr. Stark fussing over him. But he was too tired to give it any thought. 

Dr. Cho pursed her lips, giving Tony a look. "Peter, why don't you head up and get some rest? I'll send your medication with Mr. Stark", Peter glanced between the three of them. This was worrying, like, extremely so. But whadda you gonna do? He was too tired to argue, so instead, he made his way to the penthouse, barley noticing Pepper as he collapsed on the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Knock Knock?


	5. Why don’t girls clothes have pockets?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter get’s in a little bit of trouble with the Starks and Nat is as intimidating as ever.

When Peter woke up the room was dark, but Brooklyn 99 reruns were playing quietly on theT.V. God FRIDAY knew him so well. He shrugged off the blankets- blankets? God like, seven blankets. Tony Stark really didn’t play games. Maybe he shouldn’t have even mentioned the thermoregulation thing. Suddenly the lights brightened and the T.V shut off. That definitely meant Mr. Stark and Miss. Potts were on their way. He heard some whispering and footsteps coming from the hallway. Peter got up quickly, jogging into the kitchen to fix a glass of water. 

“Peter”, Miss. Potts walked up to the island, she was wearing a tight smile. Red flag numero uno, Peter. Proceed with caution. “How are you feeling?”

“Uh, I’m alright Miss. Potts” He took a sip of his water, glancing over at Tony through his glass. His arms were crossed. And he wasn’t talking. Tony Stark not talking? That's like ten different red flags. 

“Have a seat, Peter” Did- did Mr. Stark just call him by his actual name? What the fuck?

And so Peter promptly took a seat.

They stared at him for a moment. 

“We know about the drugs.”

Peter blinked. The drugs?

Oh shit. The edibles. How did they know about that? This is not good, nope this is really bad. Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic-

“I’m really disappointed in you, Peter”, Mr. Stark spoke up. Ouch, that hit hard.

But honestly Peter was at a loss for words. May had always been very openly pro-weed. He thought back to when she’d caught him with a joint. May had been straightening his room up when she found it just sitting on his window sill. And yeah, Peter shouldn’t have left it just sitting there, but he blamed the ADHD. They had a long talk about it. How to be smart and safe. She had a ‘if you're going to do it, you do it under my roof’ philosophy, she just wanted to make sure he was ok. She’d even handed it back afterwards.

May hadn’t been disappointed in him.

And so suddenly Peter was angry. Angry at himself for screwing up again, angry that May was dead, angry that Tony Stark of all people was going to lecture him about drug use. That’s awfully hypocritical of him, don’t ya’ think?

“Do you have anything to say for yourself, kid? Are you even going to try and explain this one?”. Peter stayed silent, trying to gather his thoughts. Which was getting harder to do because he was super pissed off.

“For Christ’s sake, Peter! You’re Spider-Man! You can’t be pulling this shit, you have a responsibility-“

Nope. No way was he gonna have the responsibility talk right now. Peter didn't need to hear about responsibility. Not after Ben-

Peter shook his head, and jumped up from his stool. “Oh, that’s all rich coming from you! I’ve read your wikipedia Tony, you weren’t exactly big on responsibility yourself!” He practically spit the words out. He heard a small gasp from Pepper.

And Mr. Stark...sputtered? Wow, would you look at that another red flag. Did he really just back talk Iron Man?

Yeah, no bueno. Time to retreat. Mission failed.

Peter slipped past the couple and took off to his room, ignoring whatever they had yelled after him. 

“I mean he had a point, Pep”. Tony slumped down in Peter's now empty stool, leaning a hand against his forehead. 

“Maybe so, Tony . But that doesn’t excuse his actions”. They both stayed silent for a minute, seemingly unsure about what to do next. 

“He’s going through a ruff patch right now-“, Pepper started.

“-Obviously, Pepper! He called me Tony-“

“-but he’s never acted that way before. We shouldn’t go too hard on him, I don’t want to risk pushing him away”

Tony considered this, before clapping his hands together and turning to his fiancé. “Ground him for a little bit, have a talk about why he shouldn’t be getting high…It’d be different if he was just a regular kid, but he’s not. He’s practically an Avenger. I don’t want him to fall into shitty coping mechanisms. And what about his freaky metabolism?” Tony ran his hand through his hair with a huff. “I don’t even want to think about how much he’s got to take to feel anything.”

“...maybe he should see someone?”

Tony snorted. “He’d never agree to a shrink. He’s way to stubborn”

“What about Sam?”

Peter made sure he dropped down into the office chair with as much attitude as possible. He huffed a little bit, sliding far back into the cushion and keeping his arms crossed. And yeah, it was a little childish. But Peter wasn’t above that right now. He’d practically been blackmailed into this whole ‘therapy’ thing. It was tyranny, betrayed by his own mentor. 

They’d had another talk after the whole drug argument. And as much as he wanted to disagree with their points on why exactly he shouldn’t be getting high, he couldn’t. They were pretty valid. Peter was Spider-Man, after all. He shouldn’t be wasting any free time getting high when there were people he needed him. Well that’s not exactly what they’d said to him , but the conversation hit a guilty nerve inside Peter. He’d told them it wouldn’t happen again. He’d promised. And everything went back to normal...for like five minutes. Because then they dropped the fucking therapy bomb on his lap and now here he was, in fucking therapy.

“Hey, Peter. How’s it going?” Peter didn't meet his eyes, instead he looked over at a bookshelf. Was that a Falcon action figure? Wow. Thats..wow. He was definitely telling Ned as soon as possible. 

Oh, right. Also, a small side note. Peter's new therapist was Falcon.

The Avenger, Falcon. 

No way was he telling this guy anything, he’d never be taken seriously on a mission. He’d just talk about anything else. Keep Mr. Falcon from finding out anything about anything.

“Is that baseball signed by Aaron Judge?”

“What do you mean you just talked about baseball?”, Tony was pacing around Sam’s office. “He can talk about baseball with literally anyone, right? How’s talking about baseball going to help him-“

“Tony.” The genius stopped and looked over at his friend.”He’s been through a lot. It’s going to take more than one session to get him to open up to me. Trust me, man. This is usually how this stuff goes. And even if we did talk about something more important, I wouldn’t tell you anything about it. Confidentiality, man”

Tony paused for a moment, before letting out a huff and straightening his coat.”Fine. Alrightly. Ok Then.” He was halfway out the door when he turned back. “But you are a mandated reporter, so if he was…”

“If I determined he was in danger, or at risk of harming himself, you’d be the first to know.”

Tony nodded,”Thanks”. 

The week went on and everything was alright again. Therapy was an inconvenience, but Sam was a Yankees fan so he could deal for now. He’d gone out for patrol right after school. He was trying to get out there as much as possible, he’d even cancelled plans with Ned and missed Acadec meetings. Peter wanted to prove to everyone that he was responsible, that he could be an Avenger. He wasn’t gonna screw around anymore, not when people's lives were on the line.

The crime was slow, a bike thief, some old lady’s crossing the street. So far the highlight of the night was helping this girl get her phone out of the sewer. She’d dropped it while walking in Manhattan, and it slipped right through the bars of the gutter. He’d made a show of lifting the manhole up with up his finger tips, flipping it in his hands like it was nothing. And sure, retrieving the actual phone out of the actual sewer was less than pleasant, but this girl was cute cute. And she’d touched his arm and was all like, ‘thank you soooo much, Spider-Man’ And then Peter was like, ‘No problem just doin’ my job, nice dress by the way’ And then she did that thing girls do when you compliment their dress that happens to have pockets, she got all excited and was like ‘thanks, it has pockets!’. Why are girls always so proud when their dresses have pockets-

‘Peter, I’ve picked up what seems to be a mugging two blocks south’

Karen's voice snapped Peter out of his daydream. Right, Spider-Man. Responsibility, and all that jazz.

He swung over, his hearing already picking up on a woman’s nervous stuttering.

“Please- I, I don’t have-“ Peter parched himself over the alley, looking down at the woman and the man in front of her. The woman was shaking, trying to keep steady on a leg boot and two crutches.

“Just give me the fucking purse!” He waved the gun around, and stepped closer to the cowering woman. She jumped and dropped the crutches to the key floor, losing her balance and falling down too.

Thwip!

Peter webbed to gun away, sending it clattering to the rooftop before flipping down. He’d put himself in between the two people, web-shooters raised at the mugger.

“Oh God-“ Peter sent a blob of web against his lips.

“I’m not your God, bro” Peter shoved the now very disoriented criminal against the wall, webbing him up. He turned back to the woman, who’d already helped herself up.

“Are you alright, ma’am?” Peter bent down, returning the discarded crutches to her.

“No! No my- my son!”, she was panicking. Not good. 

“Where’s your son?” Peter hadn’t heard a kid around.

“I- when he pulled the gun I- I told Sawyer to run! H-he went that way” She gestured to her leg. “I can’t run! Please!”

“I’ll find him ma’am, don’t worry”, Peter took off out of the alley, he closed his eyes trying to zone in on his senses. He could hear a quiet sniffling to the left. Jogging towards the sounds, Peter called out the boy's name softly.

“Hey, Sawyer? Buddy? Don’t worry you’re Mom’s ok, I took care of the bad guy. I’m Spider-Man”, This was it, where the noise was coming from, where was this kid? “I’m an Avenger-“ Something shot out from under a bench, his spider sense blaring too late. He tripped and was falling to the ground when he saw a little boy beneath him. In a last ditch attempt to not crush the poor kid, Peter twisted his body away. He missed the boy, but he definitely landed on his wrist. Holy fuck that hurt. Peter stood carefully, holding his injured wrist to his chest and looking down on Sawyer. They boy held a bat in his small hands, he was dressed in little league gear. Did he really just get tripped by a little league layer? God this kid had spunk-

“Sawyer!”

“Mommy!”

It was a sweet moment, he walked the small family back to their apartment building and said his goodbyes. He was sitting on a rooftop, now having forgotten all about his injured wrist in favor of thinking about the pockets again. Why didnt girls' clothes have pockets, anyways? That must be the most frustrating thing ever-

His phone dinged. He checked it only to find a reminder had gone off.

DO YOUR T SHOT YOU STUPID IDIOT

Shit he completely forgot about that. He needed to head home and-

‘Peter, Mr. Stark is three minutes out. I suggest keeping your injured wrist slightly elevated’

“You called Mr. Stark!”

‘As per Baby Monitor protocol, yes.’

Mr. Stark definitely did not fly him back bridal style to the tower.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this, Peter”, Dr. Cho told him as she set and braced his broken wrist.

“Sorry”. It wasn't too bad. It’d be healed in no time anyway. It’s not like this was the first time he’d broken a bone. The worst part was when Mr. Stark projected his suit footage up for everyone to see, watching again and again as Peter was tripped by that pipsqueak with the bat. It wasn’t really that funny. 

“Really Pete, how’d you fall for that anyway? What about your Peter Tingle?”

God, where was Pepper when you needed her to put Mr. Stark in his place.

By the time Peter had left the Med-Bay and said his goodnight to only Mr. Stark, because Miss. Potts was off in London on official CEO business, he was exhausted. He laid down gently on his giant, comfy bed and let his eyes slip shut and-

Wait. His shot. 

He sat up and climbed one handed-ly up to the vent to retrieve his lockbox, and grabbed the bag of used needles too. Jeez he really needed to pick up a new sharps container. Pencil bag of used needles was not a good look. Peter headed to the bathroom and began to prep the shot. He wasn’t nearly as nervous as last week. But that probably had something to do with the painkillers. Noice.

So yeah, the shot was going well. 

Until he realized he’d need two hands to do it. 

Well fuck. What now? He can't miss another shot. 

He’d need help...from another person...with his hormone injection. 

“FRIDAY, is Dr. Cho still here?”, she definitely seemed like the best person for this.

‘Dr. Cho has left’

Shit.

Okay new plan. Peter will just walk down there and find someone else to help. It’s not like they could out him, he had doctor-patient confidentiality, right? Maybe that one nurse that did his stitches a couple weeks back? The one that gave him a blow pop, what was his name? Bill? Bob?

“FRIDAY I’m gonna head down to the Med-Bay, don’t tell Mr. Stark, ok?”

‘Sure, Peter’

The boy tip toed out of his bedroom and headed for the stair entrance, not wanting to risk getting caught in the elevator. It only took him five or so minutes to make his way to the medical floor, but when he got there it was empty.

“Oh crap!”, Peter clutched his wrist to his chest.

‘’FRIDAY where are the nurses?’

‘The Tower does not offer a round the clock medical team. Most doctors and nurses work out of the upstate compound’

And so Peter slumped his way back upstairs, all hope lost. He guessed he’d just have to wait up till his wrist was better. Opening the door to his room, he headed to the bathroom to put everything away. 

Peter froze in the doorway, all color drained from his face.

“Peter.”

Natasha Romanov stood, holding up the small vial of testosterone up to the light. It glistened slightly. Peter's mouth opened and closed, not able to form any words.

She gave him a sly smirk, setting the vial down and placing her hands on her hips.

“Sit down.”

And so Peter fucking sat down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if u like it, I’m not so sure   
> Also Peter likes baseball because I like baseball so deal with it
> 
> Oh and if the grammars bad I’m sorry my laptop broke and I rely very heavily on grammerly


	6. Simp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nat knows his secret, and then Peter meets the new girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys guess what? I have terrible time management skills

“I can explain”

“Broken wrist?” Nat moved to pick up the already filled needle, taking off the plastic cap. Peter picked at his cast nervously.

“Uh- yeah” This was bad, really bad. She was gonna out him and then everyone is gonna know and he’ll have to runaway and-

“Makes this difficult, huh?” Peter gulped as she knelt down in front of him, keeping eye contact. She didn’t look angry or disgusted or anything that Peter was worried she was feeling. The spy held her usual unreadable, yet soft expression. The worry in his gut settled a bit. 

“Intermuscular?” 

“Yeah”

“Which leg?” Peter bounced his left leg a bit, not able to form the words. Was she going to- oh wow. Nat held the needle above his thigh and lifted her eyebrow at him.

“Ready?” He could only nod, and as soon as he did, the needle was in. She seemed to know what she was doing. She poked him in the right spot and injected the testosterone slowly. Just like Aunt May. Peter’s chest swelled and he was flooded with relief, he didn’t have to do this alone again. Nat pulled it out, caping it and looking towards his pencil bag filled with used needles. Way to make a good impression, Peter. 

“This doesn’t seem-“

“I broke my sharps box” He was quick to explain, and her concerned frown disappeared. It was silent for a moment as she watched him. God, she was intimidating. Peter squirmed a bit, unsure if he should stand. 

“Are you gonna tell?” Give her your best puppy dog eyes, Peter. Mr. Stark is always complaining about them. 

“How long?” Ah yes, he forgot. She was a super spy and world class assassin. Puppy dog eyes are not going to work.

“Uh...how long what? Cause I’ve been trans my whole life…”

“How long have you been taking testosterone?”

“Oh, a year “ Please be cool please be cool please be cool-

“Mhm.” 

“Who else knows?” 

“Ned”

“Ned?” 

“Yeah, he’s my best friend...May knew too, obviously. And now you” Wow Parker, smooth. She is definitely going to tell. He needed to book a flight to….Hawaii? No, they don’t need a Spider-Man. Wait, he’d be on the run. He couldn’t be Spider-Man, they’d definitely notice another vigilante with spider like abilities-

“I’m not a monster, Peter. I’m not going to rat you out for something like this.” Instant relief. Seriously, the sweet relief that flooded through his veins was probably better than heroin. Maybe.

“But you have to tell Cho, someone in medical needs to know. For emergencies.” Of course there’s a catch. He considered it very briefly.

“Okay yeah. I’ll tell her next time she’s here” It wasn't too much to ask. He was just happy she wasn’t grossed out. Nat was halfway out his room, and Peter raced to meet up with her.

“Uh, Nat? Thanks” Nat turned and gave him a small smile. 

“You ever need anything, don’t hesitate. We’re teammates, friends even, okay?” 

“Okay” Awesome. An Avenger knows his secret and the world didn’t explode. Peter trudged over to his bed and collapsed into his pile of blankets. His eyes slipped closed and for the first time in a while, he had a dreamless sleep.

“The answer is no, Underoos”

Peter followed Tony into the kitchen area with a sigh. He was so focused on trying to convince the man he should be allowed to patrol that he hadn’t noticed a well dressed Pepper Potts walk in.

“Pepper back me up-“ Mr. Stark turned to his fiancé, pulling the tinted sunglasses off his face. Why the hell did he wear sunglasses inside? 

“No patrol until your wrist is healed Peter” Peter definitely knew better than to argue with Miss. Potts. But what can you say? He was feeling frisky today.

“I can swing one handed-“

“Or we could make it no patrol until next month?” Back up, Peter. You went too far. This is why you never argue with Potts.

“Actually now that I think about it, my wrist is super sore.” He sent his two guardians a big smile, and tugged his ratty converse on.

“Good to hear, Peter.” Pepper noted with an amused tone. Tony just let out a huff, mumbling something about disrespectful spider brats. Peter sometimes felt bad about giving Tony so much grief and not Pepper. But only sometimes. He pulled out his phone to check the time.

“Oh crap, I gotta go or Happys gonna be so not happy-“ Peter had slung his backpack over his shoulder and was nearly in the elevator when Peppers voice stopped him.

“Actually, Tony and I are driving you today” 

“Why?” Peter asked bluntly.

“Is that disappointment I hear in his voice Pep? Are you disappointed?” The couple made their way over to him, and they all stepped into the elevator.

“Uhm…” This was new. They’d never taken him to school before. Peter racked his brain, trying to think of anything held done wrong recently that they could know about. His encounter with Nat flashed through his head and his breath caught. She said she wouldn’t tell, and she meant it right? 

“Stop tormenting the poor boy. We had something we wanted to talk to you about, and it’s hard to find a time when we’re all free” Ok, red flag. Red flags are never good. 

“Uh ok” Peter tried to calm his beating heart, but thoughts filled his head. They know? Are they mad he hid it? Are they gonna send him away? Mr. Starks probably gonna take his suit and he’ll never be Spider-Man again. Or maybe they’ll make him be Spider….girl. Ew. Nope he can’t think that way, he didn’t need to add crippling dysphoria to today’s agenda. He tuned back in, Pepper and Tony were talking about...pools?

“What’s better Pete, swimming in chlorine or salt water?” Tony turned to him, and Peter paused. 

“Uh, I don’t know...I’ve never been swimming before” He’d never wanted too. At   
Least not before he’d transitioned. Swimming is a trans person's worst nightmare.

“What?!” Tony looked at him, shocked. “You’re fourteen-“ 

“-Fifteen!-“ God, did he do that on purpose? He knew Peter was fifteen.

“-how have you never been swimming?”

Peter sighed internally, trying to decide the best way to explain his childhood to a billionaire. 

“I dunno no, nobody ever took me. Pools cost money. Sometimes the firemen would come spray the hose over the park, though. But that was more muddy than anything else” They all stepped out of the elevator and made their way to Tony’s private garage.

Tony gawked. “This is a travesty, Pepper. We have to get this poor boy into a body of water pronto. Do we have a pool?”

“No, I don’t think so. “ Pepper sent Peter a look of sympathy. If it wasn’t for her, he”d go crazy living with Tony. 

“I’ll get on that right away-“

Peter's eyes went wide. Was he crazy? He can’t spend all that money just because he’d never been swimming. “-You don’t have to do that-“

“Nope, none of that. You will swim, and you will enjoy it Parker. That’s an order. “ Maybe he would enjoy it, it’s not like he couldn’t be shirtless. And his nipples weren’t that weird, right? The little voice in his head told him yes, they were weird. Weird, girly, nipples- Nope. Deep breath Peter.

“Maybe we could take a trip to California, take him to the beach…” Peter stopped walking, staring wide eyed as Tony opened a passenger seat door for Pepper. No way. He could not be dropped off in that.

“Uh guys” They both paused immediately, turning their attention to the red faced boy.

“Well, that’s- this is a really cool car”, Peter said lamely.

Tony only blinked, tilting his head and peaking over the top of his sunglasses. “Well yeah, look who you’re talking to kid”

“It’s orange” Wow Peter. And they say you’re a genius. Way to embarrass yourself for the millionth time in front of Iron Man.

“...ok. Any other profound observations or-“ Tony seemed confused, but he caught Peper sending him another one of her ‘I got you’ looks.

“Happy’s is black, Mr. Stark”

“Wha-“ Pepper cut off his mentor, stepping away from the car and dragging him with her.

“I totally understand, Peter. I took me a while to get used to it too” Much to Peter’s relief, she walked over to a much more inconspicuous car.

“Understand what? What are you- the Acura? Really?” Tony looked between the two, and ran a hand through his hair. How did he do that and manage not to mess it up? Did he use gel too? Pepper cut off Peters thoughts.

“Stop it, Tony” She opened the passenger door for herself and slid in. Peter took this as an invitation and settled himself in the backseat. He heard Tony let out yet another huff before he hopped in the drivers seat.

“What’s wrong with the Audi?” 

“No offense Mr. Stark, but I can’t show up to school in an Audi r8.”

“You most certainly can-“ God, Peter really didn’t want to have this conversation.

“I get enough crap about the internship, if I show up in a car like that I’ll never hear the end of it.” Peter crossed his arms and watched out the window as they pulled out into the New York streets.

“What do you mean you get crap about the internship” Oh great, he set off Mr. Stark.

“Uh...I dunno” Pepper turned in her seat, and he met her eyes. 

“Peter” How did she do that? Maybe it was because she reminded him too much of May, but he couldn’t stand the way she said his name. It made his heart swell and he squealed every time.

“No one believes me.”

“What?” Tony looked at him in the rear view.

“Why wouldn’t they believe you?” Pepper asked in the same gentle, too much like May, tone.

“They googled it. Stark Industries doesn’t take high school interns” He watched as the two adults shared a look. They seemed to be able to communicate a hell of a lot just by looking at each other. Peter would never understand it.

“I can fix this” Oh no.

“Peppers going to fix this-“ Oh double no!

“No! Wait I-“

“Do you hear squabbling in the backseat?” Peter let out a huff and buried his head in his hands. 

“I do” Pepper confirmed.

“Cut the squabbling, kid”

And so Peter stopped. Definitely not because Tony told him too. Nope, he was not a little kid.

“Wait, Tony, you’ve side tracked me. Peter, we wanted to ask you something-“

“Oh right, that! We’re hosting a Gala this week, you want to come? “ Peter blinked. That’s what they wanted to talk about? Thank god, he felt like he could breathe again.

“And you can definitely say no, it’s all up to you. “

“But it would be almost ten times more bearable if you came”

“Who all’s gonna be there?” He’d already made up his mind, but he didn’t want to seem too eager. 

“It’s a big event, lots of business people. But the team is coming too”

“Really! Everyone?” What If Thor’s finally there? God please let Thor be there-

“Except Thor” Damnit. Oh well.

“Yeah, ok. That sounds cool”

“Great!”

“Now here’s the tricky part. You can either come along as Tony’s personal intern and mentee, or…”

“As Peter Parker, Tony and Peppers spawn-“ Spawn? What?

“Tony! You promised to take this seriously-“

“I think, uhm...probably option one” It was the safest bet, he had an identity to protect after all. But Peter couldn’t help but feel a little bad, were they hoping Peter would want to be….their spawn?

“Okay Peter”

“No problem, Roo’s” 

They didn’t sound upset. Maybe they’re relieved? Why would they want anyone to think Peter was theirs anyway-

“Hey look at that, your school. You need me to walk you to class? Want a hug goodbye?” The teen rolled his eyes, grabbing his bag and jumping out of the car,

“Have a great day, Peter”

“You too, bye guys”

“Remember the grey area!” Peter sent a little salute their way and watched the car pull out. Ned came up beside him, mouth hanging open.

“Dude was that-“

“C’mon Ned” Peter sighed, Ned really needed to get over the hero worship. It was getting kinda annoying.

The two best friends weaved through the crowds of students, stopping at Peters locker. He started to fill Ned in on the events of last night. By the time he was done they were heading to their first period.

“So Black Widow knows….”

“Yeah” 

“...and she helped you with your shot”

“Yeah”

“Wow”

“Yeah” 

“Is she gonna tell?” Peter shook his head.

“No, but she’s making me tell Dr. Cho”

“The Avengers doctor?”

“Uh huh, other than that she was pretty cool about it” 

“So if Black Widow, a literal Russian assassin super spy knows your...secret-” Ned was careful never to bring up the trans thing in public. It was dangerous. “-and it went fine, then why...“ Not this conversation again. Jeez.

“I’m not telling them yet, Ned” Peter snapped. Ned raised his hands in surrender.

“Okay! Okay! No pressure, it’s just...I’m sure they’d be great about it”

“Yeah, I guess”

“I hate this fucking class-“ They were just stopping outside the Ceramics class door when a girl stepped out in fornt of Peter. He twisted out of the way awkwardly and ended up on the floor.

“Oh! My bad!” 

“Uh…” Peter looked up and froze.

You know that feeling you get when a girl looks you right in the eyes and you just….implode? Because that’s how insanely pretty she is? Yeah. Her dark, curly hair made a bun on the top of her head, and her glossy face was full of freckles. She smiled at Peter brightly, full of dimple, and his stomach filled with butterflies. He felt like a fish out of water, flopping around on the floor like an idiot. Until Neds hand pulled him up by the elbow.

“Are you okay? I’m really sorry about that” She wore a short skirt and a baggy flannel over- holy shit is that a Star Wars t-shirt? He was supposed to be a genius, but Peter could hardly form a word.

“...uh”

“He’s fine, don’t worry about it” Ned nudged his friend in the side, and Peter cleared his throat.

“Yeah...I’m, I’m fine” Peter was only running at like, six percent capacity right now. Too distracted by the Spider-Man pin attached to the arm of her backpack. 

“I’m Emily”

“Parker- Peter! I’m Peter. Peter Parker” He cringed a bit as his voice came out a couple octaves higher than he’d of liked. Then Mr. Godfreys voice made the teens jump, and they scurried through into class.

“Stop loitering outside my door! Get inside before I start handing out tardies” Peter watched as Emily sat across the room, next to a few other girls. He slumped down in his seat next to Ned.

“Dude, she’s-“

“Really hot”, Peter interrupted.

“...new. I was gonna say new.” Peter felt the tips of her ears burn, and he focused his attention to the teacher.

“Listen up, we’re staring a new project this week….”

Apparently the new project was in pairs. You and your partner each had to sculpt one side of a bust. Or at least that’s what Ned had told him, because he wasn’t paying any attention.

Ned was sketching out an idea. “We should make half baby yoga, half old yoga-“

“Hey Peter!” He jumped, looking across the room. Emily waved and patted the empty seat next to her.

“Wanna partner up?” He didn’t even think. 

““Y-yeah! Yeah for sure!”

“Dude she’s smiling at me- what?” He sent Ned a grin as he gathered his stuff.

“You’re ditching me?” Peter stopped. God, how- why did he do that? Why did Ned even put up with him, he was a terrible friend-

“Oh, shit! Dude I-“

“You’re a simp, Peter. That’s what you are” Peter dropped his head onto the desk with a thud.

“….dude”

“I’m joking, Peter. Go get some” 

He looked up at his best friend, “I’ll make this up to you, I swear” Peter headed over to the girls table, trying his best to walk normally. Did he walk normally? Or did he walk like a girl? Peter ignored the shitty thoughts and took a seat next to her.

“Hey”

“Hey”

There was a short, awkward silence. 

“So, do you have any ideas?”, Peter asked.

“Not really, honestly I’m kinda shit at ceramics” Good, they had something in common.

“Yeah same. I mean this is a STEM school, right? Like why are we doing this?”

“Exactly!”

Turns out it was a Star Wars shirt, and that wasn’t the only thing they had in common. Their music taste was damn near identical, they watched the same TV shows, hated the same celebrities, she was a die hard Yankees fan, and to top it all off; Emily’s favorite superhero was Spider-Man. 

He could have kissed her right there. 

But instead class ended and he didn’t see Emily again, much to Neds enjoyment. But it didn’t matter, Peter was flying high the rest of the day. Nothing could kill his good mood. 

But then his phone dinged.

Mr. Stark- Happys taking you to see Sam again after school, don’t keep him waiting too long. He gets grumpy and starts demanding promotions.

Why did he always jinx himself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone reading ftm? Just wondering lmao


	7. Urinal cake is just forbidden candy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has a sensory overload and Flash is a dick.

Sams office was quickly becoming Peter's least favorite place. This was the fourth session he’d been dropped in and it was getting old fast. Sam was alright, but the whole ‘talk about your feelings’ vibe gave him the heebie-jeebies. He took his usual seat, sitting back deep in the chair and looking anywhere but at the actual man. Peter figured he’d test his limits, be as uncooperative as possible and maybe Tony would give up on the therapy thing. 

“Hey, Peter. How’s it going?” Sam twisted slightly in his desk chair, twirling a pen between his fingers.

“Okay, you?” 

“Not bad. I like your cast” Peter stayed silent.

“That must have hurt”

“Not really”

“Oh yeah?”

“I heal fast”

“You’re a pretty impressive guy, you wanna talk a little bit about Spider-Man?” Nope. Spider-Man was on the list of things he wasn’t talking to Falcon about. Also on the list was his dead family, being a tranny, and hockey. Hockey. Peter cringed at the thought.

“Nope”

Okay, that’s fine-“ Football though, he’d talk about football.

“Did you see the Giants game?”

Sam didn’t take the bait, instead he dropped the pen and leaned forward, fixing the young boy with an unimpressed look. “Peter, do you know what deflection is?”

Did he know what deflection was? Uh yeah, and he was pretty fucking good at it. He fixed the man with a glare and thought back on his decathlon notes. “Deflection? In physics it refers to the change in an object's velocity as a consequence of contact with a surface or the influence of a field.”

Sam blinked, but remained otherwise unphased.”Pepper told me you were just like Tony”

“Am not” Peter held his glare.

Sam smiled. “You’re sorta proving my point, kid”

“Don’t call me that!”, the bot bit out. Tony called Peter ‘kid’, nobody else. Sam raised his eyebrows.

“My bad Peter.” Sam paused, he seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “Is there anything you and Tony don’t have in common?”

What kind of question is that? “Everything. I’m not exactly a genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist.”

“What are you?”

Peter tried to keep up his act, but instead shook his head with frustration. Screw this, therapy sucks. “Ya’ know, you’re my least favorite Avenger. Plus, the Falcons are trash.” Peter hoped his outburst would turn the conversation back to football. 

“Yeah? Who’s your favorite?” Peter wasn’t about to say Iron Man, he wouldn’t give Sam the satisfaction.

“....Pepper”

Tony paced the length of Sam's office, occasionally re-straightening his blazer. Sam sat back in his chair, looking unamused. 

“When’s he gonna start….”

“Start what, Tony?”

Tony threw his hands up. “I don’t know...healing!”

“He’s not broken, man. I’m actually surprised he’s as well put together as he is. Kids been through hell-”

“I’m worried about him, Sam. There’s something going on. I don’t know what, but it’s something.”

“And how does that make you feel?”

“....shut up. Don’t get all shrinky on me” Tony stopped and ran a hand over his face. He was a mechanic. He fixed things. And even if Peter isn’t broken, he still wants to help. “You can’t tell me anything?”

Sam sighed. “Are you sure he’s not yours? Biologically?” Tony scoffed. “He’s exactly like you.”

“Pepper could have told me that. She did, actually. Mentioned it quite a few times-“

“He told me today that I was his least favorite Avenger” Tony meet Sams eye, surprised.

“He said that to your face? Yikes. I didn’t know the kid had that much cheek in him.” He used to have sass like that, before the accident. Tony thought back on the happy, bubbly kid he’d meet all those months ago. Would Peter ever be the same again? Tony shoved his sunglasses on and headed for the door, but stopped. “Did he mention who his favorite was?”

Sam smiled. “Goodbye, Tony”

“Oh c’mon! That’s where the confidentiality lies? On his favorite Avenger? I bet it’s Widow, right? It is, isn’t it? Or Bruce-“ The door closed in Tony’s face and he briefly thought back to a time where no one would have dared. Huffing, he started down the hallway. Maybe they’d take Peter on a vacation after the Gala. Somewhere warm-

“Tony? C’mon! The kids all mopey waiting for you” Tony waved off Happy, and followed him out to the car. “I’m not a babysitter, Tony. That kid is-“

Tony turned out the other man's grumbling. Tonight he was going to talk to Peter about….something. He wasn’t sure yet, he’d probably make it up as he went along. But they were going to have a very heartfelt, lifetime movie conversation. And they’d grow closer together as mentor and mentee . Everything would be great.

Peter was a little surprised when Tony asked him if he wanted to hang out in the lab. He’d figured that Sam had talked to him about his attitude today, but maybe not. Tony didn’t seem like he knew much about what he and Sam talked about. Which was good, the less he knew the better. And so the two sat in a comfortable silence, Tony working on a repulsor and Peter working on his homemade Nintendo. They’d stayed like that for a couple of hours.

It was great. 

Until it wasn’t.

Sensory episodes weren’t a new thing for Peter, he’d been having them pretty regularly since the bite. But there was something about the lab, Tony’s lab in particular, that always set him off. Maybe it was the fluorescent lights, lingering chemical smells, scraping sounds of metal, or the blaring rock music- actually it was probably all of that. Yup, everything about the lab made his body go crazy. His legs began to bounce and he clicked his pen over and over again. He’d long since lost focus in whatever he’d been wiring, instead he’d squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to cringe at the feeling of his clothes touching his skin. His head was beginning to throb painfully and his ears ached. He hadn’t had a meltdown in front of Mr. Stark and Miss. Potts yet, and he really didn’t want to. 

Just as his breathing began to even out-

“You good Pete?” Mr. Stark was all the way across the lab, but his voice was like knives in Peter's head. He tried to keep his voice even when he responded.

“I’m fine, you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine too”

“Cool” 

“Cool” it was quiet again, and just as the pain in his head eased a bit-

Bam!

Peter flinched violently, pushing his hands out in front of himself and knocking over his Peter-approved Decaf. His body fell to the floor with a thud, and the hot drink poured over his trousers.

“Ah, fuck!” Peter scooted his body away from the offending liquid, his breathing heavy. What just happened? He looked over at Tony, who stood to the side of his work bench arms crossed, a wrench sat by his feet. Why would he do that? That was just plain rude.

“Oh my god Peter! Are you okay? Yeah Mr. Stark, I’m alright. Just fell off my stool and got coffee poured somewhere coffee should never be poured-“ Peter’s voice dripped with sarcasm and he fixed Mr. Stark with his best Fuck You face.

“You’re not fine”

Peter blinked. “”What?” 

“Listen kid, somethings obviously bothering you, so just tell me what it is. Relationships go both ways, you gotta work with me here-“

“Shut up” He hadn’t said it loudly, but Tony heard. Peter tugged at his hair.

“Excuse me?” So much for getting rid of this migraine. Tears clouded his eyes and he pulled his knees to his chest and buried his head in his arms. 

“If you’re gonna cop an attitude mister-” He couldn’t keep it in, though. He let out a choked sob.

“Pete? What’s happening?” Tony was close, but Peter couldn’t think straight.

“It hurts”

“What hurts? Your head? Are- you’re having a sensory thing?”

The boy let out another strangled noise, his body shaking.

“Right okay, uh….Fri dim the lights...everywhere” Peter felt himself be pulled up. He kept his eyes closed and leaned against his mentor. He didn’t care if he was acting like a baby, this shit hurt.

“Let’s get you upstairs, okay bud?”

“Mhm” Peter doesn’t remember any of the trip up, but he recognized Peppers voice and the scent of the lavender candle she kept by the sofas.

“Tony what’s wrong-“ Peter was pushed down onto a couch, and a blanket was draped over him. God, he wished May was here. She would card her fingers through his hair and tell him stories while he fell asleep. More tears fell down his face, but he didn’t have it in him to be embarrassed.

“His senses are going haywire. I’m gonna go get his pills.” Tony was gone and he felt the cushion near his head dip down. Hands played in his hair and his heart skipped a beat.

“May?”

“It’s Pepper, honey”

“Oh” He wondered if his Aunt would be upset he’d replaced her, but the comfort was so familiar Peter didn’t want Pepper to stop.

“Will you- will you…”

“What do you need?” Her voice was soft like Mays, too. But she isn’t May, Peter. She’s not May she’s not May she’s not May-

“I don’t know”

“Oh honey…” 

Just as he was about to fall asleep, head propped in Peppers lap, a hand squeezed his arm. “C’mon Pete, I brought you the good stuff”

“Tony?” Peter was so tired, he just wanted to sleep. Tony helped him to sit up.

“Yeah buddy, it’s Tony” Somehow a few pills and a water bottle made their way to his lips, and Peter settled himself back down. His eyelids were heavy and he felt himself drift off.

“God he’s really out of it, how often does he get these?” Pepper followed her fiancé out to the kitchen, wiping a few stray tears from her eyes. This boy was heartbreaking sometimes. 

“I don’t know Pep, we haven’t been doing the whole communication thing for long” Tony ran a hand through his hair, pushing the thought of a drink out of his head. “I think he’s asleep, Fri let me know when he wakes up. I’m going to go back down to the lab and try to-“

“Goodnight guys” Tony stopped and they both looked back out into the living room. Peter's body was covered by a thick blanket, only a few tuffs of brown hair sticking out. 

“Goodnight Petey”

“Night, Peter”

“Love you….” At this the two adults froze. They’d never exchanged ‘I love you’s’. Pepper responded first.

“Love you too, honey” 

Tony took a deep breath.

“Love ya’ Pete”

Whatever he was doped up on last night was great. Peter had a refreshing, dreamless sleep. He was scrolling lazily through Instagram and spooning lucky charms into his mouth when Tony strolled in. Peter looked up at him from his seat at the island, and the man dropped a small black case onto the counter.

“What are those?” Peter picked the mystery tech up and opened it. His mouth fell open in shock. Are these...AirPods? Inside the case were two black and red earbuds, they were sleek and small.

“I present to you Stark Industries first ever, one-hundred present noise canceling headphones. Perfect for your wacky senses.” Holy crap, Tony made him headphones? He cared enough about me to make these? That’s- that insane. Peter felt his eyes start to sting and he ducked his head down. Don’t cry Peter, it’s not a big deal. You’re not a baby-

“Wireless, Bluetooth, it’s got everything. The works. So I never want to see those airbuds again, understood? It’s traitorous, no s- mentee of mine will wear my competitors- are you okay? Shit-“ Tony moved around to Peters stool and the teen looked up at him, tears running down his face. 

“You’re crying, why are you-“ Great, now Tony’s all upset. He’s a always hurting peoples feelings. Why can’t you just man up, Peter? You’re crying like a girl. The thoughts made the boy duck his head again, and Tony rubbed a hand down his back.

“Peter, are you okay? What’s wrong honey?” Pepper walked in the kitchen and looked between the two with concern. Her eyes landed back on Peter and she rushed forward.

“What did Tony do? I’ll have him working HR for the rest of the year” Peter let out a snort of laughter and wiped his face with his sleeve. He looked over at a very frazzled Tony Stark.

“I- when did you make these?” The man blinked, his mouth opening and closing as he chose his words.

“After you’re sensory thing, it seemed less than pleasant. This was honestly the least I could do” 

“But...the sensory thing happened last night….” He stayed up all night? No way-

“Uh yes, it did. I’m not following Pete- oof” Peter jumped out of his stool and barreled into Tony, wrapping his hands around the man in a hug. If he wasn’t so emotional, he never would have thought about doing something like this. Hugs weren’t a Tony thing. They weren’t there yet, right?

But Tony returned the hug and Peter’s voice shook slightly. “Thanks you so much”

“No problem Pete, anything for you”

Peter spent the ride to school worrying about the hug. Which is totally stupid, right? It’s just a hug, and it’s not like Tony pushed him away. He hadn’t overstepped or anything, Tony cared about him. A little voice in the back of his head told him no. Even if somebody did care about you, they’ll just end up dead. Like everyone else who ever dared to love you. 

“We’re here Parker” He sent Happy a thanks and hoped out of the car. Peter slid the small black case out of his pocket and put on the headphones. 

Holy shit, Tony wasn’t kidding about one hundred percent noise canceling. Everything was quiet. It was almost creepy, walking through the usually loud hallways in complete silence. Peter was so distracted he didn’t notice Flash come up behind him. His backpack was yanked around and he rushed to shove his headphones into his pocket. If Flash took them, he’d have to tell Tony. And Tony can not know what a wimp he is at school.

“What do you want Flash?” Peter sent the boy a glare.

“I said-“ Flash grabbed fistfuls of his hoodie and slammed the smaller boy into the lockers. The bully leaned in close and Peter wondered if Tony could make him something to block out smell, because ew. Is that tuna? Who eats tuna in the morning?

“If I see you in decathlon today, I’ll shove your fucking face in the south hall urinal”

Peter was thinking of something snarky to say, but Ned's voice rang out. “Back off Flash!”

“Shut up, lard! This doesn’t concern you” Uh, no way. He can say whatever fucked up shit he wanted to Peter, but not Ned. Ned didn’t deserve that. 

“Listen Flash, I’d be upset if I was a stupid chode too, but there’s no need to resort to physical-“ A quick punch to the gut stopped Peter mid snark, and he doubled over in pain.

“If you know what’s best for you, you won’t be there, Penis” Peter let out a long breath and let Ned straighten him up by the arm. 

“Dude, Flash is a dick, but sometimes you should just shut the fuck up”

“Yeah I know. I wish I could just catch a break- ow! What the-“ A note book hit him square in the head and fell to his feet. Peter blinked at it

“Hey loser” MJ. Of course.

“Uh, hey Michelle” He sent the girl a small smile, and bent over to grab her scetch book. He was surprised she’d thrown it, she was usually very protective over her art. 

“I think you dropped this?” She grabbed it from his hands, and looked at him accusingly. She reminded him of Pepper-

“You’ve missed the last two decathlon meetings.” 

“Yes. Yes I have” No use in making excuses. MJ didn’t play games.

The girl crossed her arms and let out a huff. “You’re not stupid, Parker. Stopping acting like it. Be there or I’m bumping up Flash. And I would rather bleach my eyes out and become a republican than do something positive for Eugene Thompson”

Yeah, no way was he letting that asshole take his spot. Peter nodded to MJ and put on his most serious face. “I’ll definitely be there, it’s a pride thing now” The girl seemed satisfied with his answer, because she punched him in the shoulder and took off down the hallway. Usually Peter was pretty good at reading people, but this girl was a mystery. Maybe he’d ask Nat or Clint about how to read people. Peter rubbed his shoulder and he and Ned headed to class. 

“Dude, she’s….”

“Scary” Not in a bad way though, there was something about her that felt...safe. 

“Really scary” Ned agreed.

The day went by without much drama, Peter got Emily’s Instagram in ceramics and they’d been sending each other memes all day long. His headphones were great in passing periods and annoying classes, so by the time school ended and they were sat in decathlon practice Peter felt great. Well, accept for the looks Flash sent him from down the table. The hairs on the back of his neck pricked up and he tired to look anywhere but the bully. MJ called his name out.

“Two objects stick together and move with a common velocity after colliding. Identify the type of collision” She spoke quick and with perfect pronunciation.

“Perfectly Inelastic Collision” Peter answered quickly. 

“Correct” She looked back down on her notes, and just as she was about to call on someone else, Mr. Harrington spoke up.

“Ms. Jones, I want to go home”, the teacher almost whined. MJ had gone over the hour long practice by about fifteen minutes. They had a competition coming up and she wanted them ready. Sure it was a little overboard, but she was very passionate. It was kinda cute.

MJ rolled her eyes and sighed. “Alright, on that note we’re done for the day. Good work team” Everyone began to pack up, and Peter met Flash’s eye for a second.

“Dude”, Ned leant over and whispered.

“I know” 

“Flash is-“ Going to kill me. 

“I know”

“Parker” Peters head snapped up and looked over at MJ

“Yeah?”

“Make showing up a habit, will you? You’re a huge asset to the team” He could practically see the smoke pouring out of Flashs’ ears. The bully turned on his heals and walked over to one of his friends. Perfect, they needed to leave now why he was distracted.

“Yes Captain” He sent the girl a salute as she left the room, then turned to Ned.

“On the count of three, walk briskly to the exit”

“I have to go to my locker” Peter looked over at Flash, who was gathered by the hall door with a couple of his friends. Not good.

“Shit okay, uhm...on the count of three walk briskly to your locker” The sped past the other boys, and made it into the hallway without a problem.

“This is weird” Why wasn’t Flash doing anything? 

“They’re just stalking their prey, making us anxious-“ Peter heard footsteps pick up behind him just as they’d stopped at Ned's locker. Peter took out his phone as it dinged, seeing a text from Cap.

“Just hurry up and-“ But it was too late. Fucking Parker luck.

“Penis!” The bully’s got into his space, cornering him against the wall.

“Funniest thing, I was in the bathroom taking a leak earlier and I noticed something” Flash looked at Peter with a sick smile. 

“What’d you notice, Flash?”, one of his stupid friends asked.

“There’s a urinal with Penis’ name all over it” And with that the boys grabbed him roughly, Peter's phone slipped out of his hands and fell to the floor. He was dragged across the hall and through the bathroom door. 

“Hey! Stop-“ Ned pounded on the bathroom door, but the lock had clicked. “Open the door!”

Ned groaned, turning around and slamming his locker shut. He’d just have to wait them out and hope Peter wasn’t running his mouth. A ringing sounded and Ned looked over at this friend's phone. He picked it up, and his eyes bulged when he read the caller ID.

S. Rogers

Ned took a deep breath and answered the call. “Uhh...hello?”

“Who is this?” Oh my god it’s Captain America. Ned tried to keep a steady voice.

“Uhm...Peter’s friend?”

“Ned?” Captain America knew his name. How did Captain America know about him? Did Peter talk to Captain America about-

“Ned? Hello?”

“Yes sir, Mr. Captain America sir”

“Where’s Peter?” Ned hesitated, Peter would be mad if Ned told anyone about Flash. He’d just have to lie. To Captain America. What the fuck.

“Uhm, he’s...busy”

“Schools over though, right?”

“Yes sir”

“I’m in the south side parking lot, Miss. Potts asked me to pick him up today-“ Ned heard a strangled yell come from the bathroom and cringed. Okay, no lying to Steve Rogers. Peter needed help. Even if he was too stubborn to admit it.

“Uh, he- he needs help. Come inside the main doors, he’s- uh…”

“I’m on my way” 

The call clicked off and Ned watched the doors. Captain America burst in not thirty seconds later. He rushed over to Ned, and the boy quickly pointed to the bathroom door. 

“It’s locked, he’s getting beat up-“ And he kicked the door in. Ned couldn’t believe his life sometimes.

Flash and his goons tumbled out almost immediately, running for the exit. Then seconds later a very disheveled looking Peter stumbled through the door, followed by a confused looking Steve Rogers.

“Peter?” The super soldier reached out to steady the stumbling boy, but Peter shrugged him off.

“Captain Rogers? Why are you here?” Peter ran hands though his damp hair, trying to shake out the crumbled bits of urinal cake. This was definitely the grossest shit Flash had pulled.

“I’m on pick up today.” Steve’s voice was laced with concern and he watched the boy carefully. Peter avoided the man's gaze, his face heating up in embarrassment. Of all the times an Avenger could’ve popped up, why now? 

“Are you okay?” Did he look ok? No. No he definitely was not ok. 

“I’m fine” Peter swung his backpack over his shoulder and tried to walk to the door, but Steve stepped in front of him. 

“Your fine huh? That’s why you had a mouthful of urinal cake?”

“Peter, are you sure you’re okay?” Peter had almost forgotten about Ned. He turned away from Steve and sent his friend a tight smile.

“Yeah Ned, I’m just peachy! Ending the day with my head in a urinal was awesome. Very refreshing”

“Ok so, you’re not okay” Peter sighed, feeling a pang of guilt for shouting at his friend.

“He’s not okay”, Steve added. Peter huffed, turning back to the Captain.

“Can we just go? Please? I want to change clothes” Steve looked reluctant but nodded, and they headed out the school doors in an uncomfortable silence. 

“You coulda’ wiped the floor with those guys” Peter ran a hand over his face. He really didn’t want to have this conversation right now, but when did he ever get what he wanted?

“Yup”

“Why, after hours of hand to hand combat training with the Avengers, would you let yourself get-“ 

“Because It’s not that easy! I got an identity to protect, Steve. Puny Parker wouldn’t have been able to fight off three guys. I can’t go from zero to a hundred, it’d be suspicious” 

“I get it Peter, I was puny too. But you can’t let yourself get pushed around like that, you have to defend yourself” 

“Please don’t tell anyone” Steve sighed and walked around his truck, opening the driver's door. 

“Please? I can handle it” Peter shot him his best puppy look. Steve had a soft spot for him.

“You gotta promise me Peter. Promise me you won’t let yourself get pushed around like that again. You’re worth more than the inside of a urinal” Relief flooded Peters body. The only thing that could make this day worse, would be having to talk to Tony and Pepper about Flash. 

“I promise” Peter slipped into the passenger's seat and Steve started the ignition.

“And you’re getting extra training sessions” Peter groaned. Loudly.

“I don’t wanna hear it, son-” 

“uh guys. I missed my train…” The two heroes turned to Ned, who stood wide eyed on the curb.

Peter turned to Steve. “Have you ever built Legos before?”

“Uh, no”

“You’re gonna love it. Get in Ned”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi what’s up


	8. The Gala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter goes to the Gala

As it turned out, building legos with Captain America was the perfect, ‘sorry I ditched you for a girl’ present. Ned had been a little pissed at him about the Emily thing. He was glad to see Ned practically vibrating with excitement as they sat on the living room floor, the lego Ewok Village scattered between them. It’d only been an hour or so, Peter and Ned bombarding Steve with weird jokes and Star Wars facts. The man didn’t seem bothered, which was good. The set was almost complete when Peters phone dinged, he fished it out of his pocket to see a snap. From Emily. And so the legos were forgotten and Peter was sucked into a pretty deep conversation about snails.

“….Peter? Peter!”

“Huh?” Peter looked up from his phone and over at Ned, who was sitting criss cross applesauce next to Steve. 

“Will you pass me that grey six by two?” Peter nodded, passed the lago over, and then pulled up Snapchat again. His and Emily’s Bitmojis were wearing matching fruit hats. It was fucking awesome.

“Is that Emily?”

“Uh...” He shot Ned a look that said ‘don’t embarrass me infront of Captain America’, but his friend ignored him completely.

“You’re reaching like, dangerous levels of simp”, Ned teased, and Steve glanced over at Peter.

“Shut up-“

“What’s simp?” The super soldier asked. Jesus Christ. Trying to explain Gen-Z shit to Steve was a nightmare.

“It means he’s-“

“It doesn't mean anything!” Peter cut off Ned's explanation quick.

“He deserves to know! You can’t withhold information from Mr. Captain America-“

“I totally can!” The boys stared each other down, and Steve sighed and called out to FRIDAY.

“Fri, what is simp?” Peter buried his head in his hands. God, Steve was so old.

‘Though the phrase ‘simp’ does not have a formal definition, according to Urban Dictionary a ‘simp’ is defined as: A man who puts the hoes before the bros. An example listed reads-‘

“Friday!” She really needed to learn to read the room. Maybe Peter could program that into her later.

“...hoes...before bros? That doesn’t sound very respectful to women, Peter”

Peter rolled his eyes at his teammates disapproving look. “Yeah, it’s not. But girls have a saying too” 

“What’s that?”

“Chicks before….” Ned snorted and Peter stopped. Nope. No, he can’t say this infront of America’s golden boy. The Captain America PSA about safe sex flashed through his head and he shuddered.

“Yeah no, I can’t say it in front of you. Sorry”

“I’m pretty sure he can figure it out, Peter. He knows what rhyming is”, Ned added.

And if Steve’s raised eyebrows had anything to say about it, he had figured it out. “So you’ve got a girlfriend?”

“Basically-“

“No!” Peter glared, yet again, at Ned. “Nope, she’s just a girl. Who happens to be a friend.”

Steve smiled and Peter pointed a finger at the man, putting on his best ‘intimidation’ face. “If you tell Mr. Stark about this, I will web your shield to the Statue of Liberty. No cap”

“What?”

Ned wheezed, rolling on the floor in a fit of giggles. But Steve just looked even more confused. Messing with Cap was almost as fun as messing with Mr. Stark. Almost.

Just as Ned had finally calmed down and Peter was getting ready to explain cap to Cap, Pepper walked in. She was wearing her especially fancy dress. “Peter you’ve got to get ready- oh hello Steve”

“Miss Potts, nice to see you”

“Hi Ned” 

“Hi Miss. Potts ma’am” Ned waved shyly at the woman and began to pick up the mess of legos. The woman smiled back warmly and then rested her attention on Peter.

“You’ve got to start getting ready, I laid out a suit on your bed”

“Okay” The boy jumped up, and he and Ned did their handshake. “You wanna keep this here so it doesn’t get broke?”

“Yeah” Ned pulled on his backpack. “See you at school, don’t forget to text me your half of the physics homework”

“I won’t”

Pepper turned to Steve, “Would you mind giving Ned a ride home? Happy's not available”

The super soldier smiled and tugged his leather jacket on. Ned was practically vibrating. Peter had at least a week of good voodoo in Ned’s book, there's no way he could be mad at him after tonight. “Sure thing, you good to go?”

“Oh my god this is the best day of my life. Peter-“ Ned rambled excitedly as they stepped into the elevator. 

“See ya’ Ned” The doors closed and Peter was sure he’d be getting a bajillion texts about this very soon. 

He turned back to Pepper. The woman was stunning. She was dressed in a long, deep purple dress with white lace. Her strawberry blonde hair perfectly styled, and she wore impossibly tall heels. May was never a dress lady. She wore skirts from time to time, but her style was more 70’s flower lady, with frayed jeans, tie dye and flowery blouses. It fit her personality perfectly. But Pepper was different from May. And for the first time since the accident, Peter looked at Ms. Potts and didn’t see May. And that was ok, he loved Pepper just because she was Pepper.

“If you get stuck with the tie I’m sure Tony would be thrilled to help- oh” She had been looking through her starkpad, and let out a surprised noise when Peter threw his arms around her. It wasn’t a long hug, but it didn’t matter. He’d never hugged her before. 

He pulled back and sent her smile “I’ll be quick” Peter ran off quickly to his room, not wanting to see Peppers reaction to his hug. It’d be too awkward, and he still wasn’t very sure where the line was.

He made it too his bedroom, shutting the door behind him and stripping of his clothes. He winced in pain at the bruises Flash and his crew left behind. They’d probably be gone by the morning, but it still sucked. Peter turned to the full length mirror on his wall, looking himself over. A smile tugged at his lips, and he flexed a bit. He’d never get tired seeing himself shirtless. I mean how could he? He had a fucking six pack. His eyes drifted downwards, onto his dick. Well, his prosthetic. But still.

And there it is, the dysphoria. He closed his eyes and let out a huff. The intrusive thoughts ran though his mind. It wasn’t real, he didn’t have an actual dick. What kind of man didn’t have a dick? Fuck. 

Peter shook his head and turned form the mirror to grab his clothes. The suit lied out was nice. Well, more than nice. It was probably worth more than his aunts car-

No. Actually, it wasn’t. Because his Aunts car was totaled. Just a hunk of twisted metal and charred upholstery and dried blood-

Spiraling. You’re spiraling, Peter. Just shut the fuck up and get dressed, today is supposed to be a good day. And so he got dressed, keeping his eyes closed as he pulled his pants on. He then turned back to the mirror, and immediately the dysphoria died off. Wearing a suit always made him feel great. He slung the tie around his collar and began to fumble with making a knot. But he couldn’t get it right. He should be able to tie a tie, right? What kind of man can’t tie a tie? Mr. Stark could. And probably Ned and Flash and real boys. 

‘Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry’. Peter repeated the words over and over in the mirror. He looked himself over, his eyes red and finger tips white as he gripped the grey tie. He’d been doing so well, the nightmares were few and far between these days, and he’d hugged them. He actually hugged them. He hugged Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts. He shouldn’t be so fragile right now, not over some dumb tie. He tried to remember the way May had tied his tie Homecoming night, but no luck.

“God, Pete. I’m surprised you can even tie your shoes with the way that looks” Tony voice startled the boy, he dipped his head and tried to keep his mentor from seeing his read face. He didn’t need pity. He wasn’t some little kid. ‘I’m Spider-Man I’m Spider-Man I’m Spider-Man I’m Spider-Man-‘ 

“Need some help?”

“May taught me how.” Peter said quietly, trying to keep his voice steady. “I don’t remember”

“It takes a while to get it down. I’m sure she wouldn’t have expected you to remember-“

She would have, she would be so disappointed in him. Disgusted probably, for moving on so quickly. Moving in with some billionaire and forgetting all about her and Ben. Peter whipped around and looked at the man. He wanted to yell. To tell Tony he was wrong, that May was dead because of him. That he should run before Peter got him killed too. But he didn’t, he just let a few tears slip and ripped his tie off, throwing it harshly to the floor. 

“I should remember!” Peter grabbed the rubber band around him wrist, snapping it over and over and over and-

Tony’s joking face disappeared quickly and he stepped over to the teen, gripping his wrist and pulling the band off. He rubbed at the angry red spot and Peter hissed. God, he was acting like a baby. Peter wouldnt be suprised if Tony univited him right now.

But he didnt. Instead the man retreived the discarded tie from the floor, and turned the boy back to the mirror. Tony stood behind him, and slid the fabric through his collar.

They stood in silence as Tony fixed the his tie. Peter felt himself relax. Tony was really good at making him feel better, he didn’t even have to say anything. He was halfway through the Kelvin Knot when he cleared his throat. “When I was about your age I went on a tie strike. Refused to wear them.”

“A tie strike?” 

“I was suited up and paraded around the media before I could even wipe my own ass, so I was understandably sick of these things.”

Peter winced a bit as he tightened the final knot. “Did it piss your dad off?”

“Royaly.”

“Why’d you start wearing them again?”

“Mostly because I look good in a nice suit.” The teen snorted, and turned to face Tony. “But partly because I know my father would have been beyond relieved” Peter nodded, and let his eyes slip to the floor. He’d never admit it, but Peter liked that he had so much in common with Tony. It made the whole ‘not being his real kid’ thing a lot easier. 

“Just because you lose someone, doesn’t mean you still can’t make them proud” Peter just nodded, too emotionally drained to really feel the weight of his words. Pepper walked in, her eyes scanning over the two to them.

“Ready boys? Peter, you're absolutely dashing!” She walked over, squeezed Peters cheeks in a way that she knew made him smile.

“Thank you, Miss. Potts. You look very beautiful”

“Aww, you’re too sweet” They shared yet another nice smile, before Tony threw his hands up.

“Excuse me, Tom Ford suit? Where’s my kiss?” Pepper shook her head and ignored her fiancé’s outburst. She led Peter out to the elevator, Tony parading shortly behind them. 

Peter groaned. Tony and Pepper had spent the ride down to the Gala outlining the rules. It was almost as if they thought he was a kid, or something. Ridiculous. They stepped out of the elevator and headed through a lobby. Peter eyed the doors to the event, some security lingered outside and Peter could hear the mass of people inside.

“-no disappearing, no alcohol- hey” Tony snapped his finger in Peter's face, sending him a very serious face. “No alcohol. None. Not even-“

“I’m not gonna, Mr. Stark. Promise” He was stupid, but he wasn’t stupid enough to get drunk at a Stark Gala. The Avengers were gonna be there, he couldn’t risk getting in anymore trouble with them. He was already drowning in extra training sessions.

“He’s not an exact copy of you Tony, Peter’s got sense.”, Pepper reminded him.  
“If you get overwhelmed or just plain bored let us know, okay?” 

Peter nodded.

“Great, now if that’s all Miss. Potts, I have an intern to show off.” And with that, Tony swung an arm around his shoulders and led him through the doors. 

The event room was lavish. Hundreds of people gathered there and filled seats at tables. Some stood at a bar against the back wall, where men in tuxedos served them drinks. At one end of the hall was a stage, draped with red velvet curtains, and on the other side was a completely glass wall. It led to a balcony that overlooked Manhattan. Peter caught eye of what looked to be a buffet. Was that a chocolate fountain? Holy shit, that’s only in the movies right? Peter headed that way, but was stopped by Mr. Stark.

“Let’s find those MIT guys. They’ll eat you up, Pete. Consider yourself enrolled” 

Peter cringed a bit, but let himself be dragged off. One day he’d have to tell Mr. Stark about film school. But definitely not today.

Apparently everyone wanted to meet Peter Parker. Something about him being Tony Starks first and only personal intern. It was kinda annoying, he wasn’t even a real intern, he didn’t do paperwork or make coffee. Is that what interns do? But he sucked it up and spent the next hour or so talking with strangers. They asked him loads of questions.

‘What do you think about SI’s new clean energy plan?’

‘Have you worked hands on with the Iron Man weapons?’

‘Can you keep up with Mr. Starks work?’

“Why are you interested in organic and biomolecular chemistry? Shouldn’t your focus be engineering? Especially working under Tony Stark?’

“I have some leeway at Stanford if you’re interested-‘ Mr. Stark shut that one down quick. Peter groaned into his hands, he could smell the food from here. Actually he could smell it from anywhere. Cause of, ya’ know, his Spidey senses.

“These guys kinda suck, Mr. Stark”

“Tell me something I don’t know. They’re all leaches, the bunch of em’, never go into business Pete. It’s no fun.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Uhm, if you’re done showing me off, could I go explore a bit? I wanna find Nat” Nat liked chocolate. Maybe she’d raid the fountain with him.

“Nat, huh? She lets you call her that?”

“Uh huh, she’s pretty awesome”

“Yeah sure kid, but remember-“

“No drinking. I remember.” Peter sent the man a sloppy salute and hurried off. He weaved through the people, and made it to the tables of fancy food. The chocolate fountain was finally in front of him. Peter looked off to the side and found a platter of strawberries on skewers. He grabbed one, dipping it under the dripping chocolate with a huge grin. He must have been holding it there too long though, because a waiter sent him a look. Whatever, fuck that guy. Peter was going to enjoy this moment. Nothing could ruin a chocolate fountain. He bit into this treat and-

Ew. 

Peter spit it out into his palm almost immediately.

“What the hell is this?”

“Sir, you’re disturbing the other guests” Peter looked up at the server, and frowned.

“This isn’t chocolate”

The man huffed. “It’s hazelnut, sir”

Peter's shoulders dropped and he grabbed a napkin to wipe the mess away. Why the hell would anyone make fake chocolate anyway? Hazelnut is gross. The boy sulked around the hall, keeping an eye out for any stray Avengers. He ended up at the bar, staring awkwardly at the bartender. 

“Uh...hi”

“What do you want, kid? Apple juice, Shirley temple?” Chocolate. He wanted chocolate. But whatever.

“What’s a Silly temple?”

“You’ll love it” 

And all of the sudden Peter had forgotten about the hazelnut bullshit. Because silly temples were his new favorite thing in the world. He’d had five or six by the time he’d run into Nat. She wore a classy black dress and tall heels. Peter hurried to stand next to her. 

“Hey, Nat. How are you?”

“I’m good, Peter. You?”

“Good” He sipped the rest of his drink and started people-watching. There was an odd looking woman in a very bright green dress. Like a human highlighter-

“I heard from Steve-“

“Damnit! He promised!” Steve was such a squeal. Hopefully Nat was the only one he’d told. “I didn’t even know he could lie without, like, imploding”

She didn’t find that funny. And Peter cured Steve’s name. “Remember how we agreed on no training on Mondays?”

“Yeah, because Mondays suck enough already-“ 

“See ya’ Monday, Peter”

Great. Flash, and then the hAzElnUt fountain, and now this. Fucking Parker luck. Peter headed back to the bar, and the bartender mixed him another drink wordlessly.

“Peter!”

The teens head whipped around. “Wanda!”

Finally someone his age. Or at least close to it. “Suicidal pigeon?”

“Yes.” They smiled at each other, and Vision frowned next to her.

“I do not understand. I never understand the things you two converse about”

“We can teach you?”

“Yes, we will teach you. Starting with road work.” Wanda turned very seriously to Peter. “Peter, where is the road work?”

“Ahead. The road work’s ahead.” God he loved Wanda. 

“I sure hope it does”, she finished. 

“Write that down Vision, it’s very important.”

The next ten or so minutes were spent trying to teach Vision different vines and memes. It was fun, but Peter started to feel a bit like a third wheel. Wanda and Vision excused themselves, and Peter was left alone again. Were they a thing? Peter was definitely starting to get vibes from them, they seemed really close. Too close to be just friends. Peter shuddered at the thought, and headed back to the bar. He needed another silly temple, stat. 

“Hey Peter, how’s it hanging?”

Damnit. This was the one Avenger he definitely didn’t want to run into. Ever. 

“Oh...hey Sam. I’m good, you?”

“Pretty good, the food is great. Have you seen the shrimp? They’re huge” He knew the man was only making polite conversation. But the therapy thing really sucked and Peter was still kinda hoping he could make Sam sick of him. 

“Uh, no”

Sam seemed to sense his aversion and sighed. “Ya’ know, things don’t have to be awkward outside my office. We’re both Avengers-“

“I’m not an Avenger.” Peter snapped .

Because he isn’t. Mr. Stark made that pretty clear. He was just a kid. Sam seemed shocked and Peter swallowed his guilt.

“Sorry, just- I gotta pee. Sorry” It wasn’t a lie. He needed to go, like, yesterday. All those drinks really got to him. 

Peter pushed himself away and through the crowd, looking for a bathroom. His bladder was uncomfortable and it was getting urgent. He found the men’s room to the left of the stage and pushed in. The bathroom was small but really fancy looking. There were four urinals on one wall and three stalls on the other. He started towards the urinals but stopped short.

No dividers. There were no dividers. He couldn’t pee there, someone might see him. His prosthetic was realistic, but not realistic enough that he was comfortable peeing at a urinal with no fucking dividers. He ducked his head down a little and noticed feet in all of the stalls. Shit. 

He really had to pee.

“Everything alright, sir?” Peter whipped around and saw another man in a tuxedo. They had bathroom waiters? That was a shitty job. Pun definitely intended.

“Uh, yes. Yeah everything is great. Just fine, uh- bye” He rushed out of the bathroom, and ran a hand through his hair. He really had to pee, like right now. Ever since the spider bite he’d needed to go all the time. He couldn’t make it all the way back upstairs, and he knew there was no bathroom in the lobby, Peter scanned the room, but found no other bathroom. What the fuck is he gonna do?

Balcony? He looked through the glass and saw almost no one there. Great. Okay. 

Peter hurried that way, slipping through the glass doors and scanning the area on shaky legs. He couldn’t pee in view of the glass window, or the strangers mingling, so he walked to the far end of the balcony and turned the corner. Awesome, no windows and no people. All that sat around the corner was a roof access door and a large potted fern.

Bingo. Finally something’s going his way.

Peter rushed over to the plant, pants already undone and adjusted his dick quickly. He definitely didn’t want to leak piss into his pants. Finally he was peeing, and thank god. He closed his eyes and relaxed.

“Hey!” Peter jolted, eyes open. He heard a man come up behind him and willed himself to finish. By the time a hand grabbed his jacket and pulled him back, he’d tucked it away. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The man was a security guard. Well, atleast it wasnt Happy who’d caught him.

“I-ow!” The burly man grabbed his ear and started dragging him.

“Where are your parents?”

“Let me go asshole! Who grabs kids by the ear anyway? That’s just in movies dude- Ah! Ouch!”

He stopped just out of view of the hall, but kept a tight hold on Peter's ear.“What’s your name?”

This guys fucking sucks. “Okay, okay fine. I’m Mike” 

“Mike what?”

“Hunt” Was it immature? Yes. The man pressed a finger to his comm.

“I’ve got a Mike Hunt on the north side balcony, I found him indecently exposed- what? Say what again? I don’t understand...his name? It’s Mike Hunt...”

Peter watched the man's face twist as the joke dawned on him. “Who are you here with? You’re this close to ending up in jail, kid”, he growled out.

“Tony Stark”

The man huffed. “Tony Stark? Alright if you wanna be smart with me then- hey!”

And so Peter shoved away Mr. Security Dick and ran back inside. He looked around frantically, and found Tony and Pepper sitting at a table and talking with some suits. He rushed over.

“Peter? What’s wrong?” Mr. Stark stood and looked him up and down. This was not going to be fun to explain. 

“I’m really sorry and I can definitely explain-“ A hand gripped his arm and pulled him back.

“Sorry sir, this boy has been resisting-“

“Let go of the kid or lose your job, your choice” Mr. Stark baked out. 

“Uh-“ Mr. Security Dick dropped his arms and Peter darted to stand behind Tony and Pepper.

“What did he do?”, Pepper asked.

“We uh, he was caught uhm...urinating. On the balcony. In a, uh, potted plant”

There was a pause. And then his foster parents looked over on him. 

“Peter….what the hell” Mr. Stark asked him, exasperated.

“I can explain!” 

Pepper turned to the security guy. “We’ll take it from here, sorry about that”

“You. Elevator. Now.” Peter nodded. 

“You coming Pep?”

“Investors got some mingling left to do, plus I think this is a conversation better suited for you.”

“It was one time! The suit has a filtration system!” 

Peter shuffled behind Mr. Stark as a they walked through the lobby and entertered the private elevator. 

“Why?” Peter bit his lip nervously, trying to think of a way to explain this horribly awkward situation. Atleast Mr. Stark sounded more confused than angry.

“....the urinals don’t have dividers.”

The older man blinked, and looked over at Peter with a raised eyebrow. “Stalls?”

“All filled up. I, uh...had a lot of silly temples” 

Mr, Stark snorted and shook his head. “Silly- Shirley temples?”

“...yeah”

“And so you peed...on the balcony”

“In a plant!” It wasn’t like he just peed right there on the floor, in front of everyone. He had more class than that.

“Ok” The elevator door opened onto their floor and Mr. Stark walked out, shrugging off his jacket and throwing it onto the couch. Peter jogged after him.

“Ok? So I’m not in trouble?”

“No, I don’t think I can ground you for peeing. But next time, just find another bathroom. And I’ll make sure the urinals have dividers, okay?”

“Okay, thanks Mr.S- Tony”

Tony smiled warmly at the kid, and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “No problem Pete.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry its been forever, updates will be waaayyyy more regular from now on i promise.  
> If u like it plz drop a comment, i love reading them   
> Thanks

**Author's Note:**

> plz comment I need validation


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